A milestone in matchmaking

In what could become a new trend in pairing food and wine, Australian wine brand Jacob’s Creek has introduced the “Reserve Table JC Grocerant”. It combines fresh produce “from the grocery” and the sort of wines you find at top restaurants.
The idea is to encourage people to find the perfect Jacob’s Creek wine for their favourite foods.
    The concept was launched at a recent banquet at K Village’s K Square on Sukhumvit Soi 26, where a vast white tent cooled by industrial fans was stocked with choice goods from Villa Market.
Guests scrutinised a counter brimming with red, white and rose from Jacob’s Creek, then chose their preferred ingredients and delivered them to the chef, who cooked the dish in full view while, served along with suggestions for a wine to match.
    The set menu began with a smoked-salmon sandwich paired with Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Moscato White and smoked chicken cream-sauce linguini with Reserve Chardonnay Adelaide Hills.
The main course – lamb rack in red-wine sauce – was partnered with Reserve Shiraz Barossa to enhance the meat’s sweet juiciness. Finally there was light and flavoursome Moscato whipped cream with raspberries, lovingly accompanied by Sparkling Moscato Rose.
    Villa Market and Jacob’s Creek will soon set up cooking stations and wine counters at the supermarkets. Until that happens, Villa’s vast selection of top-quality produce and the extensive portfolio of Jacob’s Creek make it easy to create virtually any dish you like with a vintage to match.
All you have to keep in mind is the weight, intensity and acidity of both the dish and the wine to ensure that one doesn’t overpower the other.
    As a general rule of thumb, white wine tends to go with white meat, fish and pasta, while red is best with more robust, darker meat.
Matching gets trickier when sauces come into play, especially if they’re spiced. In that case, consider the ingredients that dominate the senses and the palate, not just the type of meat you choose. Taste the sauce, and then if the wine doesn’t seem “bitter”, you’ve got a match.
Explore more on the olfactory side and try to determine the dominating scent of the dish, and find a wine that doesn’t distort or negate the aroma.
    If you’re cooking Thai, Indian, Malaysian or any food that’s well spiced, stock your cellar with Jacob’s Creek Lamoon, a premium red specially created to pair with Thai food. It has a light, medium body and is quite aromatic, also ideal for seafood and curries with coconut milk.
Meanwhile Jacob’s Creek Wah, a very refreshing white, teams nicely with sushi and other Japanese dishes using dashi and soy sauce.
In its 160 years, Jacob’s Creek has always been committed to crafting wine that impeccably complements diverse flavours in cuisine. The aim it to perfectly match the authentic tastes of every dish.
     The winemaker has earned more than 7,000 accolades in competitions in Australia and across the globe.